SEC President & CEO Jeffrey Edwards made this statement following the recent news release by NRECA:

"We applaud the NRECA, an organization which represents electric co-ops all across our country, for their leadership on this issue. The EPA’s proposed rules for existing power plants would cripple our ability to continue to provide our members with affordable and reliable electricity. There is little doubt these regulations would increase our members’ monthly electric bills by significant amounts and we urge the EPA to reconsider this endeavor. Especially at a time when economic growth in our service territory has been so abysmal, our members cannot afford to make tough decisions between paying their power bill, and paying for groceries or prescription drugs. SEC fully endorses the public comments submitted by NRECA to the EPA, and we urge our members to continue to be vocal on this vital issue."

SEC members who wish to take action on this issue should go to: www.action.coop.

From NRECA’s official comments:

"This Proposed Rule is illegal, imprudent and impossible to implement. EPA’s aggressive approach to interpreting the statute, complete inconsistency with its own longstanding regulations and misinformed statements and Pollyannaish judgments about the electricity sector and what the emission reductions sources in that sector can actually achieve, place the rule beyond salvage. These comments explore these infirmities in detail and explain why EPA must withdraw this ill-advised proposal and start over."

"The EPA proposal asks consumers to pay more for energy and use less of it. This approach raises serious consequences for millions of Americans in rural, high-cost or low-income areas. Affordable, reliable energy is the lifeblood of every household, every business and every community in the country, so the member-owners of electric cooperatives view this plan with obvious concern. It is complex, it is costly and it is a staggering overreach of authority. That’s why NRECA joins with co-op advocates who submitted more than 1.1 million grassroots comments to EPA asking for the withdrawal of these proposals on new and existing power plants. We stand ready to work with the EPA and others to create policies promoting an ‘all of the above approach’ that are environmentally and economically responsible."

The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association is the national service organization that represents the nation’s more than 900 private, not-for-profit, consumer-owned electric cooperatives, which provide service to 42 million people in 47 states.

Headquartered in Crewe, Virginia, SEC is a member-owned distribution electric utility serving more than 54,000 residences & businesses throughout southern and central Virginia. For more information about SEC, please visit us @ www.sec.coop, find us on Facebook: SouthsideElectric or on Twitter: @SouthsideEC.

Submitted by Allan.Sharrett@... on Mon, 12/01/2014 - 7:00pm

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Touchstone Energy® Cooperatives is a national network of electric cooperatives across 46 states that provides resources and leverages partnerships to help member cooperatives and their employees better engage and serve their members. By working together, Touchstone Energy cooperatives stand as a source of power and information to their 32 million member-owners every day.